The Myth of the Bikini-Clad Freelancer (and Challenge for 2015)

If you’re a freelance writer, let me ask you a question. Do you find it difficult to convince people to take you and your work seriously? Maybe not the people you’re pitching to, but ordinary folks who wear suits and ties and go to jobs in big buildings. Do you get met with a “oh gee, lucky you” or what I’ve termed the “That’s so adorable” face?

Sometimes it’s very difficult to get people to take you seriously. But they can’t entirely be blamed for it. After all, whether in a Google search or while clicking through stock photography images, if you search “freelance writer”, you get a lot of images like this.

Can I tell you the last time I grabbed a laptop and lounged in a chair out in my garden while working? No, I can’t. Because it’s never happened.